CHAP. !.] SYMPLOCINE^. 397 



as the stamens are attached to the petals, 

 which adhere together ; and if a flower of any 

 species of Epacris be examined, it will be found 

 that the corolla, with the stamens attached to 

 the lining of the tube, parts readily from the 

 calyx without losing its natural form. The 

 flowers are tubular or campanulate, with a five- 

 cleft limb, and will divide readily into five 

 petals, each of which has the filament of a 

 stamen attached to it, leaving only the anthers 

 free. The anthers are one -celled and awnless, 

 and this is the principal distinction between this 

 order and Ericaceae. The calyx is five-cleft, 

 coloured like the corolla; and there are five 

 scale-like bracts below it, which look like a 

 calyx. The capsule is dry, with the seeds at- 

 tached to a central column. The leaves are dr}^, 

 hard, and prickly. The species are natives of 

 Australia, where they supply the place which 

 the Heaths hold in Europe and Africa ; no 

 Heath having been yet found in any part of 

 Australia. 



ORDER CXVIIL— SYMPLOCINE^. 



This order contains one genus, Symplocos, of 

 greenhouse and stove shrubs, from South Ame- 

 rica, with small white flowers, and serrated 

 leaves, which turn yellow in drying. 



